Alfredo De Angelis

Alfredo de Angelis was an Argentinian pianist, composer and bandleader, world famous for recordings and performances by his orchestra during the Argentine tango's defining era, from the 1930s through the 1960s. While his bandleading peers alternated their tangos with extravagantly composed modern music, de Angelis remained close to the danceable roots of tango; this stubborn adherence to traditional forms made him a legend. He composed or arranged harmoniously synchronized tangos through the efficient use of rhythm, careful and abiding respect for melody, and an insistence on showcasing singers. Among his hundreds of recordings are bona fide tango classics including "Al Pie de la Santa Cruz," "La Brisa," "Ya Estamos Iguales" (featuring Carlos Dante), "Marioneta" (featuring Floreal Ruiz), and "De Igual a Igual" (featuring Julio Martel). De Angelis was born in 1910 in Adrogué, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He began studying piano, sight-reading, and harmony before he was five. He began his musical career at 15 playing piano behind singer Juan Giliberti, and after being approached by maestro Anselmo Aieta, joined his orchestra as pianist. He and master bandoneonist Ernesto de la Cruz later accompanied singer Felix Guiterrez in several orchestras. Around 1934, he joined Graciano de Leone's orchestra and later the Los Mendocinos orchestra led by Francisco Lauro. As a pianist, De Angelis was beloved by singers and often backed them in live duo performances and on the radio. In 1940, de Angelis began leading his own bands. His orchestra's first concert was on March 20, 1941 at the Buenos Aries café Marzotto with vocalist Héctor Morea up front. The show was a barnstorming success. Afterwards, the conductor and his band received an invitation to record for the Odeon label. De Angelis remained there until it ceased operations in 1977, issuing some 486 sides recorded between July 1943 and January 1977. De Angelis generally focused on melody with simple rhythmic conceptions. He established himself as a first-call musical director and conductor of vocal duets. Consequently, his best-known numbers prominently featured the harmonies of his vocal duos, especially the pairing of Dante and Martel, perhaps the best-known duo of the tango era. The latter left the orchestra in 1951, putting an end to that magical period. During the last part of the decade, de Angelis cut a few instrumentals that also became high watermarks in his discography, most notably "Pavadita," which is still performed in the 21st century. Though he appeared on or led literally hundreds of singles and EPs during the 1950s, de Angelis scored some of his biggest hits with charting albums including 1968's Medalita de la Suerte and 1971's La Brisa, using singers as diverse as Alberto Cuello, Roberto Mancini, Carlos Aguirre, and Juan Carlos Ostoy. During the 1980s, de Angelis moved over to EMI proper, where he cut important singles such as "Esta Noche" with Carlos Boledi and "Tachero de Mi Ciudad" with his daughter Gigi de Angelis in 1980 as well as "Argañaraz (Aquellas farras)" with Ruben Linares in 1985. He released Asi Es, his final studio album, in 1989. De Angelis died at age 82 on March 31, 1992. Since his passing, virtually all of his own recordings -- as well as others featuring him as a piano soloist -- have been reissued several times over. Further, dozens of first-rate compilations continued to appear, including 1997's Alfredo de Angelis Recordando Exitos Canta Featuring Oscar Larroca, 2001's Con Sabor a Tango Featuring Juan Carlos Godoy, and 2010's Alma Tanguera. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi